Impossible Odds: Quarter Quell
by heymrsunshine
Summary: Sequel to Impossible Odds. Joniss.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I'm back and I brought Joniss with me! Okay so it's a really short chapter and has like zero plot but it's just a little something to start us off.**

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><p>"Please..."<p>

The single word is all I can manage and even then it comes out as a whimper. She smiles wickedly at me, shaking her head. This woman is pure evil. Katniss Everdeen has been holding me on the brink of an orgasm for what feels like hours but every time I near release she pulls away. I would just finish the job myself but then I would lose the bet.

This all started a week ago when Katniss insinuated I was the reason we had to sneak over to the second house to have sex. Once we got back we found that our families had been moved into the Victor's Village in houses that were across the street from each other. We were not willing to be that far apart and the houses were much too big for just three people anyway so Katniss' family ended up moving into our house. However as Haymitch had noted back at the training center, Katniss and I are both very vocal when it came to having sex. The first time we had sex in the house we went downstairs the next morning to find that our mothers and siblings could barely make eye contact with either of us. Since then we have been sneaking over to Katniss' empty house whenever we get the urge to ravish each other, which is quite often. Katniss had the nerve to suggest that she has much more control than me when it comes to the bedroom and she could probably keep quiet but she didn't think I could. This led to an argument until we decided the only way to settle it was to have sex and see who could actually be the quietest. We both lost. Still the whole affair has led to us becoming much more competitive in our relationship. In the past week we have bet on all sorts of sex related things and that has ultimately led to my current predicament.

I glance over at the clock and see that I still have a couple minutes to go if I want to beat Katniss. She is currently running her tongue up and down my slit so lightly that for a second I think I am imagining it. The bet is simple, we each take turns teasing each other and see who can hold out the longest without physically interfering to move the process along. Although it feels like it has been hours it has in fact only been thirty-nine minutes since she started working on me. During her turn Katniss ripped through the handkerchiefs tying her wrists to the bedposts and took matters into her own hands at the forty-one minute mark. If I had gone first and not had a specific goal in mind I may have given in a good deal sooner - in fact I have already freed my right hand but I managed to get a hold of myself and grab a fistful of the sheets before I ended up doing anything to actually interfere. My left hand flies out of its restraint as Katniss' tongue reaches my clit and presses against it with the slightest pressure. Another glance at the clock shows I have reached the forty-one minute mark and I figure if a tie was good enough for the Hunger Games it is certainly good enough here.

I notice Katniss' eyes dart towards the clock as my hands tangle in her hair to push her mouth closer to where I need her. Thankfully now that I have given in she wastes no time in bringing me to release with her skilled tongue. My gracious girlfriend rewards me with two back-to-back orgasms for my trouble, licking me clean before sliding back up my body with a smug grin her on her face. I'm still catching my breath when she starts kissing and biting my shoulder, her hands flying to my chest so she can massage my breasts.

"How are you still going?"

"Don't act so surprised," she mumbles into my shoulder before lifting herself off me. "You know how worked up I get after our competitions. Especially when I win."

"You didn't win, brainless." I fly into a sitting position, staring down at her. "That was definitely a tie."

"Not even close," Katniss scoffs. "I won by a good fifty seconds. I was nearing 42 minutes when I gave in, you just barely made it to 41."

"Seriously?! That's ridiculous. You never said anything about seconds or I would have held out for another measly 50 seconds."

We both stare at each other for a few minutes, neither of us willing to back down. Finally Katniss shrugs her shoulders and smirks.

"Guess it's time for round two."

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><p><strong>Updates will probably take longer than they did for the last story - I've been having some serious trouble getting motivated for this one.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: To clear up the timeline a bit, the previous chapter was supposed to be set just a couple weeks after their return to Twelve, and this is set a few weeks after that. Basically this story assumes there is a couple months of downtime between the end of the Games and the start of the Victory Tour.**

***Trigger Warning* A lot of references to the attempted rape in this chapter and possibly in future chapters.**

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><p>I slam the door behind me and let out a frustrated scream before heading to the hallway I know leads to the basement. This house is just like every other house on the street, including my own. Once I am settled on the floor of the dark basement I lean against the wall and let my eyes flutter closed. I can taste the salt from a teardrop that has made its way down my face but I do nothing to wipe it away. No one is around to see it anyway, no one wants to be around for this.<p>

Ever since we got back I have been trying my best to keep myself together for my family and for Katniss, to put the events of the Games behind me and move on with my life. For a while it was working - but it was only a matter of time before the flashbacks started. Katniss gets them too - I think you would pretty much have to be a sociopath not to be deeply scarred by the arena. We talk about it sometimes - about seeing the faces of the children, and they were just children, that we had to kill. Sometimes Katniss will stare at Prim with a devastated look on her face and I know she is seeing Rue.

All of that definitely put a strain on things at home but none of it is the reason I am currently crying in the basement of an empty house in Victor's Village. That falls squarely on what happened with the boy from District 6, whose name I found out was Jase. Once we phased out the sleep syrup Haymitch had us taking in the weeks following our return home we both started getting nightmares. For Katniss it was pretty much all the same stuff as the flashbacks - still terrifying but not totally unexpected. The first night I fell asleep without the syrup I found myself back in that clearing tied up in the hands of Jase, and in my dream the scene played out as it likely would have had Katniss not interfered. I woke up screaming and thrashing violently as Katniss struggled to restrain me and calm me down. Things have only gone downhill from there.

After the nightmares started I haven't been able to be intimate with Katniss; any time we get a little too far I get flashbacks. I gave Katniss a black eye during one such flashback and ever since we have given up on trying. She tries to be patient when it comes to this but I can tell she does not really understand why I am so hung up on it. None of them do. My mom, Carter, Haymitch, and Katniss - they all keep telling me I should just be grateful that Jase was stopped and that I made it out alive. Some days I find myself wishing I had died in the arena. At times it feels like a torturous death at the hands of one of the tributes would have been easier than having to go through life with the painful memory of just how vulnerable I was and the constant fear of ever being put in that position again. Every other moment in the arena I had some amount of control over my own fate but with Jase I had zero control. Katniss and the others do not understand just how terrifying it is to be that helpless, to be tied up with an insane serial rapist and know that there is no way to prevent what is about to happen. Not to mention that the whole thing was televised across all of Panem.

"Johanna!"

My eyes snap open at the unexpected sound of Mrs. Everdeen calling my name from a distance. A moment later I hear the front door open and shut, followed by footsteps inside the house. I scramble to my feet and wipe my face with my sleeves.

"Johanna, I know you are in here and I would like a chance to talk to you. I'll wait in the kitchen for a few minutes and if you feel up to it you can join me, otherwise I'll head back."

I smirk at how considerate Mrs. Everdeen manages to be even when she is busting in on my pity party. I make my way up the stairs and towards the kitchen, very curious as to how she ended up being the one to follow me over here. The two of us are always very nice to each other when we interact but we don't exactly have a close relationship or much of a relationship at all. She is already sitting down at the table when I get to the kitchen so I take a seat across from her.

"Hello Mrs. Everdeen."

"Hi Johanna," she gives me a small smile. "I am sorry for interrupting your alone time but I felt it was time we talked. I hope that's okay."

"Of course."

We both sit silently after that, I can tell she is gathering her thoughts and I do not feel the need to rush things along. Mrs. Everdeen looks tired and somber, her blonde hair falling limply around her face as she stares at the table. Finally she looks up at me and takes a deep breath before speaking.

"When you two did your first interviews I figured the relationship angle was some sort of strategy you all had worked out. However watching you two in the arena I realized there was a bit more to it than that. Still when you two came back here and immediately decided to move in together I was surprised. It all just seemed really fast, especially considering how guarded Katniss usually is with people outside of our family."

Mrs. Everdeen pauses for a minute but I don't try to jump in with a defense for how fast we moved because right now it is obvious Katniss and I are not in a good place. I have no doubt she and everyone else in the house heard Katniss and I arguing this morning. Unfortunately this is probably not the first time everyone has heard us fighting in the last few days.

"I can tell Katniss does really care for you but she is having trouble understanding what you are going through. It is hard to truly understand without having been through it yourself. I never have but as a healer I have had quite a few people come to me after having been taken advantage of. Many of those men were never brought to justice but I know even if they would have faced consequences it would not have eased the suffering of their victims."

I nod in agreement with the last part, I think that is where a lot of Katniss' frustration is coming from. She wants to be able to help but considering Jase has already been stopped and killed she does not know what else she can do.

"Katniss is worried about you but she has never been great at expressing her emotions. I'm sure it doesn't help that the last time she saw someone going through depression it was after Mr. Everdeen died and I shut down completely. Our family almost starved, we would have if it was not for Katniss stepping up to take care of us. I'm sure she has mentioned this to you."

"No, actually she hasn't."

Mrs. Everdeen nods at my admission but does not continue speaking. I look down at the table, thinking about what it means that I did not know about such a huge part in Katniss' life. To be honest, neither of us have really talked about anything significant that happened in our lives before the reaping. I look back up at Mrs. Everdeen and begin to get up from my chair.

"I hope you don't mind but I think I should go talk to Katniss. Maybe we can continue this conversation later?"

"Of course. I am sorry I did not reach out to you sooner, but I am here anytime you need to talk. Oh and I think Katniss went out to the forest."

"Thank you Mrs. Everdeen. I'll see you later."

"Alright, see you at home Johanna."

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><p>I slow down when I near the spot where I know Katniss will be, needing time to brace myself for the conversation. I think Mrs. Everdeen and I could have talked for a while longer but once I realized what I had to talk to Katniss about I wanted to do it as soon as possible. By the time Katniss comes into my line of view she is already looking down at me from her perch atop a large boulder. Neither of us says anything as I climb up to join her on the rock, sitting close enough for us to speak quietly but also being careful to leave a couple inches between us. Katniss begins to speak before I can gather the courage.<p>

"I'm sorry I lost my temper this morning."

"Don't apologize," I hold up a hand to stop her from speaking. "I lost my temper first and I can't expect you to keep your cool when I'm yelling at you like that.

"But…"

"Please, just let me get this out and then you can say what you need to."

Katniss shuts her mouth and nods, waiting patiently for me to continue speaking. Sitting in front of her now I am second-guessing myself but I decide to just start saying what's on my mind and see where it goes.

"We've been fighting a lot recently, usually about some pretty stupid things. The stuff with Jase may have been what set it off and I really wanted to blame it all on him but to be honest I think this was inevitable. Your mom came over to talk to me after our fight and she briefly mentioned the depression she went through after your father's death. For a second I was surprised you never told me about that but then I realized I never talked to you about when my dad died either. In fact, we never really talk about our pasts at all. What little I do know is from the night before we went into the arena, but even then we talked about mostly trivial things. The truth is that we don't actually know each other all that well."

Katniss looks like she is about to protest but I raise an eyebrow at her and she tightens her lips, gesturing for me to continue.

"I think if none of this stuff with the Games had happened we would eventually have started talking to one another. We would have become friends, hunting together and getting to know one another. I would still have been attracted you but I think it would have taken a while for me to make a move. I imagine a couple months into our friendship I'd reach a point where I just couldn't resist the urge to kiss you and hopefully you'd kiss me back. We'd sneak around for a while and do silly romantic things for each other. I'd teach you to throw knives and you'd bring me flowers." Katniss and I both manage smiles at the absurd image of her picking flowers for me but it doesn't reach our eyes - we both know where this is headed. "Prim would figure it out because she's so wise and Carter would figure it out because he's sneaky. Maybe some people here would not approve of our relationship but we would ignore them because we'd be so in love it wouldn't matter what anyone else thought. We would have been happy."

"We can still be happy."

She does not sound very confident but I understand her need to say it. Despite all of our issues we are both still very attached to each other. I know I would like nothing more than for our relationship to work, but it just isn't.

"Not like this."

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><p><strong>Yes, I did just break up Joniss. Sorry you had to see that.<strong>

**Reviews are appreciated.**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: The italicized part is from the last chapter since I started exactly where it left off. Also I could use a beta so if you feel up to the task PM me.**

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><p><em>"<em>_We can still be happy." _

_She does not sound very confident as she says this but I understand her need to say it. Despite all of our issues we are both still very attached to each other. I know I would like nothing more than for our relationship to work, but it just isn't._

_"__Not like this,"_ I say solemnly and she lets out a sigh of resignation. "I think we should take a few giant steps back, start over and get to know each other as friends. Maybe after that we'll end up together and maybe we won't. But if we keep going on like this we're going to end up hating each other and I don't want to risk that."

Katniss gives a slight nod of agreement and then we both sit in silence, processing what this conversation means for us. I think that deep down we both knew that this was coming. We began our relationship based on nothing more than a vague sense of connection and our mutual physical attraction. Our feelings were augmented and our relationship fast-forwarded by the intense situation we found ourselves in along with our undeniable physical chemistry. Obviously there is a bit more to it than that now, we would not have lasted this long together if we did not truly like each other. Still the fact remains that we did not build our relationship on a solid foundation and we should not be surprised that it is crumbling under the strain of all our issues.

"I think Prim, mom, and I should move out."

I am startled by her statement; I had not really thought about what ending our relationship would look like. I suppose it makes sense for us to give each other more space but at the same time I am saddened at the thought of Katniss moving out. No matter how bad our fights have gotten we have always ended up in the same bed at the end of the day.

"That's probably for the best."

Katniss gives me another curt nod and stares off into the distance, her grey eyes foggy with despair. I know I should not be giving mixed signals right now but I can't help reaching a hand out to cup her cheek and turn her face towards me. I move towards her slowly to give her time to turn away but she brings a hand up to tangle in my hair and quickly closes the distance between us. The kiss is slow and chaste, our lips glide against each other softly in a way that reminds me of our first kiss. I feel Katniss run her tongue across my bottom lip and when I part my lips to allow her entrance I can taste the bitter tang of tears on her tongue, though I am not sure whose tears they are. When the kiss ends neither of us moves away, her hand stays tangled in my hair and mine slides down to her neck as we lean our foreheads against each other. When she speaks her voice comes out in a whisper and her breath ghosts over my lips.

"You're right about us starting over, but you should know I don't intend on letting that be our last kiss."

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><p>The next morning Katniss and I walk out of our houses at the exact same time, both of us ready for a morning jog - something we had been doing together since we came back here. We stop in our tracks as we look at each other from across the street and then Katniss squares her shoulders and walks over to me. When she gets closer I notice she has bags under eyes - I guess we both had more trouble sleeping than usual last night.<p>

"Hi neighbour! We just moved in across the street yesterday evening." I raise an eyebrow at her, the perky voice she says this in is a bit creepy and I am well aware of when they moved. We sat our families down as soon as we got home and explained that the two of us decided to end our relationship. Haymitch came over almost immediately afterwards to help Katniss and her family move out. She ignores my expression and reaches out for a handshake. "I'm Katniss Everdeen, though some people just call me Brainless."

She gives me a tiny wink and despite everything we've been through I can't help but smirk at her antics. I reach my hand out to shake hers and decide that as silly as it seems, this over-literal interpretation of "starting over" may be exactly what I need

"Johanna Mason. It's nice to meet you neighbour."

"Nice weather for a jog, isn't it?" Katniss smiles as she speaks. I can tell she's happy I am playing along. All of this is so out of character for Katniss, but it just makes me appreciate the effort even more.

"Certainly is," I smile back at her. "Would you like to jog together? Since you're new to the area I can show you all the best routes."

This time I am the one that winks and her smile widens at my invitation. She nods and I take off on our regular jogging route with her following close behind. Katniss is slightly faster than me, which makes sense since she has longer legs, but she never has trouble adjusting her pace to my own. As we jog we strike up a conversation, keeping up the fresh start act and telling each other about our families and interests. We keep it pretty basic but even so we both share facts and amusing stories that we had never bothered to before. At the end of the jog we part ways with friendly waves and make plans to meet up at the same time tomorrow.

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><p>I walk into the house and collapse onto the couch with a smile on my face. Carter, who was already sitting at the other end, makes a face at me.<p>

"No one should be that happy when they're that sweaty looking. Seriously, go shower."

I resist the urge to make a dirty joke and instead just flick his ear as I get up and head for my room. One of the best parts of the Victor's houses is having private bathrooms attached to every room. When I get back downstairs after having showered and changed into fresh clothes Carter is still sitting on the couch and I join him once more.

"So JoJo, what had you wearing that goofy smile anyway? After the night you had I didn't expect you to be in a good mood this morning."

I grin at Carter's trademark lack of tact when it comes to questioning me. He can be sneaky when the situation demands but when it doesn't he usually leans towards being pretty blunt. He's referring to the terribly nightmares I had last night, and without Katniss here to calm me down they were worse than ever. I gave up on sleeping after the third time I woke up screaming and nearly attacked Carter when he startled me during an attempt to calm me down.

"I wasn't originally, but I ended up jogging with Katniss and had a pretty good time."

"Seriously?" Carter groans. Surprisingly he's not a big Katniss fan. "How healthy is it for you to be going on morning jogs with someone the day after you break up with them? And I don't understand why you'd be so happy about it...I mean you are still broken up aren't you? Shouldn't you be depressed or something?."

"Have I ever told you how much I appreciate your sensitivity to other people's emotions?" He rolls his eyes at my sarcasm. I ignore him and continue speaking, "I was afraid that things would be really awkward between us after we broke up and I am just really relieved that we got on fine. I probably learned more about Katniss' past today than I have in our entire relationship, so even though I am sad about breaking up this morning kind of reassured me that this was the right decision for us."

"Well I'm glad to see you smiling, whatever the reason. Does this mean you're still going to be spending all your time with her?"

Carter's voice gets really quiet when he asks and I feel like banging my head against the wall for having missed this. He hasn't liked Katniss ever since we got back, even before the our relationship started falling apart. It always seemed like such a mystery to me but now I realize the reason should have been obvious - he was upset about the fact that Katniss was taking up all of my time. Carter and I used to spend a decent amount of time together before I left and since I've been back I've pretty much been neglecting him. Whether we were fighting or fucking, all my time was consumed by Katniss. I suppose that's just one more way in which our relationship was unhealthy.

"No, Carter, it doesn't. And no matter what happens with Katniss in the future, I am going to make sure I leave time for you. I really missed you while I was away and I'm really sorry I haven't acted like it."

"I missed you too JoJo."

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading, let me know what you think.<strong>


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